I was once given a lovely wooden box and in the box was a board game called Box of Golf. It was the most beautiful board game I’d ever seen. Golf as a board game was sort of boring however and the game has never seen much play. A board game is not a substitute for walking outdoors on a crisp Spring day, smelling the fresh grass and chasing a little white ball around. So, I wondered what golf in Second Life® was like. Was it a bored game or something really refreshing.

There are many golf courses or clubs in SL. A list of all of them with comments on membership and difficulty appears below. I suggest a golf course rated as easy to start. You need clubs and maybe a cute outfit. Most courses have a Pro Shop where you can get everything you need. Also, if you do a quick “golf” search in the SL Marketplace you will find all sorts of golfing essentials.

I went to the AERO Golf Club as my first golf stop. There I got some free essentials: golf clubs, a score card, and a HUD. The HUD gives you either a driver, a wedge or a putter. It also explains how to use each club and in general how to play. It’s all very nicely thought out.

Playing is fairly straightforward. To start, go to the Tee (the start of a hole), select a club and your ball will be rezzed. Then, walk up to the ball, align yourself, select how hard to hit the ball, hit it and see where it goes.

Teeing off at AERO Golf Course

When you hit your ball, you can watch the trajectory and once it lands a big arrow points to it. I wish it did that in real life. Aiming one’s shots does require some experience and practice. It’s really pretty fun. My first hole took 17 strokes. Improvement comes pretty quick after that however. My second try was at Seahawks Golf Course and I got into the first hole in 8 strokes and on the second hole I got a 2 with a masterful wedge shot right into the hole.

There are two golf systems: The basic one (O.O) gives you 3 clubs and the advanced one (C.C) has 12. With 12 you get more control over distance. The AERO course gave me the basic system for free and the C.C system can be rented or bought. Free O.O clubs appear to be course specific but the C.C clubs can be used most everywhere. I rented some C.C clubs at Rolling Hills Country Club and then used them at AERO, Seahawks and Evergreen.

Ane putting at Rolling Hills Country Club

The Second Life Golf Players Association, founded by Clint Sweetwater, is a resource for players and courses. All the golf clubs are members as well as individuals. The SLGPA has sponsored two golf tournaments to date but it generally is a communications channel. Sweetwater said, “I periodically send information out to the group via a Notice attachment.” He also maintains a list of active courses as some I found via Search were no longer available.

Overall, I found SL golf to be a moderate challenge and a lot of fun.

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Golf courses, currently active in SL, graded for difficulty. The challenging ones are ideally only attempted by experienced players as danger of blood pressure rising and damage to clubs as you fling them to the ground in frustration. This list was compiled by Anekee Michaelson (amouretta) who is an avid golfer.

1 Comment

CrowleyCorp Resident

Posted May 7, 2017 at 11:17 AM

This is a great and accurate article about SL Golf. I am CrowleyCorp Resident of SL, creator of the ((C.C.)) Elite Golf System and owner of the Rolling Hills Golf Course. This article was a pleasant surprise to me when the link was brought to my attention. SL Golf is indeed a very fun experience, especially with friends. Thank you for writing this article, it is much appreciated!

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